Jacket2 - Holly Melgardhttp://jacket2.org/taxonomy/term/5483/0
enWhy childbirth?http://jacket2.org/commentary/why-childbirth
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<h3 class="subtitle">A question for Holly Melgard</h3> </div>
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<figure><img src="http://jacket2.org/sites/jacket2.org/files/imagecache/wide_main_column/Holly airplane_0.JPG" alt="" title="Holly Melgard, reading at Grey Borders, St. Catherine&#039;s, ON" class="imagecache imagecache-wide_main_column" /><figcaption>Holly Melgard, reading at Grey Borders, St. Catherine's, ON</figcaption></figure> </div>
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<p>Sometime around late August/early September, I had lunch with one of the young women writers I see often in New York. She told me she had recently been to a reading in Philadelphia where Holly Melgard had, as she described, “performed childbirth, not actual childbirth, obviously, but just like made noises like she was in labor, and it was really loud, and people were really upset by it.” This performance apparently caused a great reaction. A number of people were furious, some felt insulted; why would some young girl who has never had a baby do something like that? That's what it seemed to boil down to, according to my friend.</p>
<p>Well, only Holly Melgard can answer that. But let's not pretend the WHY question is really just about explanation. Discussion about a controversial choice made by an artist opens up opportunities for&nbsp;all kinds of analysis. And with the sharp increase in people choosing to not bear children, emotions on this issue seem to be running high in our culture. From what I'd heard, Melgard landed herself squarely in the middle of it when she performed in Philly.</p>
<p><a href="http://jacket2.org/commentary/why-childbirth" target="_blank">read more</a></p>childbirthconceptual writingfeminismHolly MelgardlaborperformanceWed, 13 Feb 2013 15:15:02 +0000kristeng7944 at http://jacket2.org